New Party In Power But Same Old Budget Concerns In Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG (CBS) – Republicans will control the governor’s office and the state legislature starting next year but that doesn’t necessarily mean Pennsylvania’s budget squabbles are over.

Republicans say there are ways to avoid cuts, such as eliminating waste and selling assets like the state store system. However, facing a multi-billion dollar deficit, more program cuts seem inevitable.

The man in line to become House speaker, Sam Smith, says there’s no money for, “frills and extras.” Outgoing Governor Ed Rendell suggests that even Republicans may disagree on what constitutes, “frills and extras”:

“We’ll reduce funds for public libraries. Oh? Public libraries? You can’t reduce funds for public libraries. That’s where kids go. Well, we’ll eliminate or reduce the funding for black fly spraying. Well, you can’t do that.”

Franklin and Marshall College analyst Terry Madonna agrees that even Republicans may end up at loggerheads while balancing the budget: